NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- After an offseason and preseason worth of work, game week has finally arrived for Old Dominion football.
The Monarchs will face South Carolina on the road Saturday to kick off their 2024 schedule, marking the second meeting with an SEC team in program history. It will be a stadium that will see many fans rooting against ODU, but an atmosphere to which they're looking forward.
"This is why you play college football, these type of environments, whether it's our own home environment, which is awesome, or being able to go on the road for something like this," head coach Ricky Rahne said. "This is what you dream of when you're a little kid. You don't dream of an empty stadium and people sitting on their hands. You dream of it being loud and excited and people have traditions and chants and things like that to get you going."
"That entrance is intense, those fans are rowdy, 4:00, SEC fans are crazy," added quarterback Grant Wilson. "It's going to be a lot of fun. It's every kid's dream."
South Carolina played well at home last year. The Gamecocks finished 5-7, missing bowl eligibility, but all five of their wins came on their home field. While it's hard to scout a team for week one of the season, Rahne and his staff have a general idea of some things the Gamecocks might do. It all starts with their head coach, Shane Beamer.
"I think his teams play tough," Rahne said of Beamer. "You expect them to play good special teams just based on how he was raised in the business."
South Carolina struggled a bit on both sides of the ball last season. The Gamecocks ranked 12th in the SEC in scoring (26.0 ppg), ninth in total offense (363.1 ypg) and 12th in total defense (395.7 ypg). The program addressed some of their needs in the transfer portal during the offseason and will put some of those new weapons to the test Saturday afternoon.
Old Dominion and South Carolina kick off at 4:15 PM and fans can watch the game on SEC Network.
